Japan’s largest onshore wind farm powers up

Japan’s 147 MW Abukuma onshore wind farm has powered up this month. The wind farm is part of Fukushima Fukko Furyoku, a joint venture of nine companies, led by Sumitomo Corporation, and combines GE Vernova’s turbine technology with project leader Toshiba Corporation's execution capabilities. This is the largest onshore wind farm in Japan – with 46 wind turbines each with a capacity of 3,200 kW, providing enough electricity to power the equivalent of 120,000 homes. The project is considered to be pivotal to advancing Fukushima’s reconstruction following the tsunami in 2011, which devastated one of its nuclear power plants.  

The wind farm will contribute to the economic revitalisation and energy resilience of the region with a powerful renewable energy source, and is part of Japan’s goal of increasing the share of the national electricity mix provided by renewable energy from 40% to 50% by 2040, as outlined by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s 7th National Electricity Mix. The renewable energy generated will be supplied to multiple companies and municipalities with business operations in the Fukushima Prefecture.

It is the fifth wind project to be supplied by GE Vernova in Japan since the beginning of 2024, and is seen to be ‘a critically important wind farm for Japan along with our consortium members’, says David Hardy, Chief Commercial Officer for GE Vernova’s wind farm segment. ‘The technology is designed to minimise the environmental impact and cope with extreme weather conditions in Japan,' he continues, ‘while reinforcing our commitment to meeting Japan’s ambitious renewable energy and wind power goals.’

US-headquartered (in Cambridge, Massachusetts) GE Vernova has a total installed base of about 57,000 wind turbines, with 120 GW of capacity worldwide.

UK government greenlights Rampion 2 offshore wind farm

UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband has awarded a Development Consent Order for the Rampion 2 offshore wind farm project off the Sussex coast. The project is being led by RWE on behalf of its joint venture partners, a consortium led by Macquarie and a subsidiary of Enbridge. It will be capable of powering the equivalent of one million homes.

Rampion 2 extends the existing 116-turbine wind farm with up to 90 more in the English Channel off the coast of Sussex, from which subsea cables will bring the power to shore under Climping Beach, linked by underground cable to a new substation at Oakendene, before final connection at Bolney, West Sussex.

Wood Mackenzie slashes US wind outlook in face of Trump energy turmoil

In other news, Wood Mackenzie has slashed its five-year outlook for the prospect of new US wind installations by 40% from just one quarter ago, due to uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s administration and economic concerns.

The market analyst now expects the US to add 45.6 GW of new wind power capacity between 2025 and 2029. It had originally forecast installations of 75.8 GW over that period.

US power consumption is forecast to rise to record levels in 2025 and 2026, reports the Energy Information Administration, amid growing demand from data centres providing artificial intelligence-based services.

However, wind energy was already facing a slowdown in the US before President Trump took office in January and ordered a pause in new federal wind leasing and permitting by Executive Order, calling wind turbines ‘ugly, expensive and harmful to wildlife’.

Last year the US wind market was the smallest it has been in a decade, with the installation of 5.2 GW compared with 7 GW in 2023. There had been almost double that amount of wind installations in 2021 and 2022, ahead of the expected expiration of a federal tax credit for clean energy, which was later extended for a decade in the Inflation Reduction Act under the Biden Administration in August 2022. That has been partially rescinded by President Trump.

Wood Mackenzie Research Analyst Stephen Maldonado comments: ‘While we expect the [wind] market to rebound somewhat, ongoing uncertainty around future US wind policy and economic pressures will likely constrain growth in the near term compared to previous forecasts, despite sustained demand for power.’

High taxes on electricity make electrification ‘less attractive’ for businesses

In other news, a report by trade group WindEurope and consultancy VaasaETT suggests that ‘high taxes and levies on electricity make it less economically attractive for businesses to electrify their operations’. They argue that this undermines the EU goals of boosting industrial competitiveness and energy security through electrification and renewables. The report claims that European industries pay significantly more in electricity taxes and levies compared to the US and China, putting them at a disadvantage.

The report calls for ‘revamping of electricity bills’ to address this issue and promote a more competitive and secure energy landscape. Moreover, high taxes and levies make it less cost-effective for business to switch to electricity-powered processes, hindering the broader transition to a more electrified economy, says the report.